When the data copying progress reached 100%, Thea casually tossed the hostage aside. Taking advantage of their scramble to save him, she let out a loud shout and hurled the golden construct spear in her hand at the ship's weak point.
The construct spear flew like lightning. Thrown with full force by Thea, it punched a massive hole through the ship amidst the terrified roars of the Kryptonians!
Whoosh—!
Unparalleled suction immediately followed the breach. Here, the Kryptonians' powerful physical constitution was evident. They could function in space, so they didn't panic like humans would. Whether grabbing fixed objects or holding onto companions, not a single person was sucked out.
"Take care, everyone!" Thea felt a bit of regret at not seeing them panic-stricken. Although they probably didn't want to see her ever again, Thea still offered a polite farewell, materialized a flight vehicle, and flew out through the breach she had created.
Thea didn't return to Earth immediately but watched from a distance. She saw fires constantly lighting up on the Kryptonian ship. Although there was no oxygen in space, their ship carried plenty of it, so explosions occurred frequently. Despite their efforts to salvage the situation, its orbit had inevitably tilted, sending it on a slow but steady course toward Earth.
"That's a wrap!" Thea had obtained everything she needed. Kryptonians looked like humans, but internally they were a different species; the data wouldn't help her divinely modified body much. However, referencing Kryptonian genetic modulation technology to enhance the physiques of her parents and two brothers was certainly feasible.
She flew directly to a nearby planet, put away her construct, and opened a portal back to Earth.
She was done worrying about that huge, wobbling target in the sky. Whether Superman flew up to smash it apart or Earthlings launched some exotic superweapon to blow it to pieces, it had nothing to do with Thea.
Pretending to be injured, she flew back slowly to the Department of Defense.
"Apologies, that alien was too powerful. I still couldn't catch her; I let her get away." Thea conveyed the illusion to everyone that Faora had run back to the spaceship.
General Swanwick repeatedly expressed that it didn't matter. He was quite concerned about her, asking warmly if she was injured.
Compared to Superman, an alien with boundless power, Thea—an Earthling whose background they knew inside out—was much more precious. "People who have something to lose tend to be more reliable." Although foreigners might not have heard the original saying, they understood the logic: She's one of us, she has skin in the game, she's trustworthy. In their minds, Thea quietly got stamped with all those labels.
In the analysis of the Department of Defense "experts," Thea's construct ability was just imagination brought to life, and her battle with Zod was nothing more than a power armor fight. The authorities didn't fear technological weapons; they feared someone like Superman, who could wear tights, raise a fist, and fly tens of thousands of miles.
In the original timeline, General Zod obtained the Kryptonian Genetic Codex and immediately split the ship in two, sending them to the north and south ends of Earth to terraform the climate and turn Earth into a new Krypton.
But right now, they were busy repairing the ship and had no time to care about Earth matters.
For a moment, the whole situation felt strangely awkward. Satellites were all shielded; they didn't know the situation in the sky. Relying on intuition, they guessed the opponent hadn't left. The current situation was simple: the aliens in the sky weren't coming down, and the humans on the ground couldn't go up.
...General Swanwick didn't know what to do. Some staff suggested letting Thea lead a team to eliminate the aliens, but he rejected it directly. Are you kidding! Superman was right in this room. If he suddenly turned violent, who could stop him? Although in the Secretary's heart, even three or five Theas couldn't beat Superman, she could at least block him for a bit, right?
Fortunately, Superman and Lois Lane poured out their hearts to each other and shared a passionate kiss on the spot, dissipating much of the guilt he felt about raising his fist against his compatriots.
Because his attention was entirely on Lois, he hadn't seen the scene of Thea damaging the spaceship earlier. Now that the Kryptonians had patched the ship up, he noticed nothing unusual.
"I'm going to end it all!" Clark gazed affectionately at Lois, then nodded to the generals and flew into space. His smile was very charming in Lois's eyes, but in General Swanwick's eyes, it was an expression of extreme arrogance. If you read into it, it even felt a little provocative!
Several people waited anxiously for information. Not long after, a guard ran over quickly. "Report, General! Satellite signals have been restored!"
Everyone, including Thea, breathed a sigh of relief. There were satellites belonging to the Queen family up there too. They didn't have as many as Luthor or Batman, but there were still a dozen or so up there; if they were all destroyed, the loss would be significant.
Seven or eight military satellites immediately patched the signal into the Secretary's office. Thea, along with Amanda Waller and Martian Manhunter who'd been watching for quite a while, also saw the live broadcast.
They saw violent explosions occurring on Zod's ship. From time to time, people were knocked out of it. The ship, which had only been temporarily patched, became even more riddled with holes. Even more terrifying was that the ship's propulsion system was out of control. Caught by Earth's gravity, it was plummeting rapidly toward the surface.
The Secretary hurriedly picked up the phone to ask the Department of Defense scientists outside.
"Where is the impact point? Calculate it for me, quickly!"
The other side bustled about and finally gave the Secretary an answer.
"The impact point is Metropolis!" The Secretary put down the phone, dumbfounded.
Everyone in the room was stunned.
The Martian Manhunter hesitated slightly but stopped in his tracks because Thea jumped out.
"I'm heading there immediately; my employees are there!" Without waiting to greet anyone, she flew out of the office.
"It's too late! The fall speed is too fast..." The Secretary wanted to shout to stop her, but before he could finish, Thea was already gone.
On the way, Thea only used half her speed. On one hand, it showed she was still injured; on the other hand, she had directed this entire scene!
While copying the data, she had secretly instructed Gideon to hack their control system. Regardless of whether Superman came to destroy it or Earth launched nuclear weapons, the ship's wreckage would charge toward the tallest building in Metropolis... Lex Luthor's LexCorp Tower.
Gideon had calculated 2,239 possibilities for ship damage and arranged 551 alternative plans. Unless the ship was beaten into powder, its target would only be the L-Tower.
Queen Consolidated was expanding into Metropolis. Unlike the Luthor Group, they had no foundation there. What to do? Thea's idea was to farm reputation! She wouldn't expose her abilities in front of the public to stop the ship crash. Instead, she prepared to use her original identity for disaster relief. As the Group's reputation rose, her own standing would naturally rise with the tide.
No place to live? Queen Consolidated will build houses for you! Injured? Lie in the Medical Pod, ten minutes to fix, and it's free! No food or drink? The former Merlyn Shipping Department will bring you massive amounts of food and drinking water—all free of charge!
In a few days, when Queen Consolidated's new headquarters opened in Metropolis, wouldn't the citizens welcome them with open arms, like a liberating army marching into town?